My Baby Can Read

[lulu]

I know we have many teachers here as well as mothers of young children. I watched the infomercial and I was fascinated. Is there some downside to this I'm missing? Too good to be true?

 

[Arkteia]

I am not a teacher. How old is your baby?

 

[steph72276]

Hi, Lulu. I was a teacher for many years and I would personally not waste my money on this program. The first problem I see with it is the fact that it uses DVDs to teach babies. New research has shown that tv should not be used for children under 2 years old. They can become overstimulated with rapid movements and scene changes and their brains are firing off neurons at a rapid pace while viewing tv. This makes it seem as if the real world is moving at slow motion compared to the rapid movements they see on tv, and thus it can lead to shorter attention spans later in life. The best thing you can do at this stage for development is interacting with your child. Read books, sing songs, play blocks, etc. There will be plenty of time to learn to read, and motor skills are just as important in my very humble opinion. I taught Kindergarten and at the beginning of the year we inevitably would have parents coming in saying "well, my child is really advanced, he/she can already read". Well guess what, by the end of the year, ALL the children could read and many times would not only catch up to the early reader, but surpass them in level, so being an early reader doesn't necessarily equate to more advanced in school when everyone else catches up to their level.

 

[soocool]

My DD started to read at age 4. My mother was convinced that she just memorized the stories, but whatever word she or I pointed to she could read. Funny thing if we asked her a certain word she could spell it as well.

I spent lots of time reading to her while she sat right next to me. I used to point to the words as I read. We also went to storytime at the library everyweek since she was 1 1/2 so I believe that cultivated her love of reading.

 

[steph72276]

Also, I believe it is better to start from the ground up learning letters first, then the sounds of the letters, so that there is a method to the reading. This program just basically has children memorize words, which is a part of reading as far as sight words, but there needs to be the foundation of sounding the letters out as well.

Soocool, I've always done story time at the library with my kids. It really does help to cultivate their love of books when they can have fun listening to stories and music and then get to pick out books on their own.

 

[soocool]

Also, I believe it is better to start from the ground up learning letters first, then the sounds of the letters, so that there is a method to the reading. This program just basically has children memorize words, which is a part of reading as far as sight words, but there needs to be the foundation of sounding the letters out as well.

Soocool, I've always done story time at the library with my kids. It really does help to cultivate their love of books when they can have fun listening to stories and music and then get to pick out books on their own.

You are absolutely correct about this. DD had a large Sesame Street letter set. She learned her alphabet very early on (2 1/2 - 3?)
and I remember that she would point out every letter she knew in store or street signs. She also started printing her letters at age 4, but sometimes she would print certain letters backwards and mistake a 6 for a 9, but it corrected itself a shortwhile later.

 

[AGBF]

My daughter knew the entire alphabet by 18 months and she hates to read. Her first word was, "book" by the way. Also: we read to her constantly when she was a child; the house is full of books; and she was brought up in a multi-generational environment in which both her parents and both her grandparents were avid readers. She has wonderful grammar and a good vocabulary, but she doesn't read for pleasure and she finds reading school assignments painful. She has no learning disabilities.

Deb/AGBF

 

[Haven]

I'm not familiar with this program, but I just wanted to say that the research shows it's best to first teach children letter sounds, and THEN to teach them the names of each letter. This is because we want to develop phoneme awareness (which leads to phonemic awareness) in our children first, as letter-sound correspondence is the basis for our ability to begin learning to read.

Of course, most parents teach their children the alphabet before they learn the phonemes and that is OKAY. However, the most effective method is to teach the phonemes first. (Think of it this way: If you are trying to learn how to drive a nail into a block of wood, is it more important to know how to use a hammer, or to know what the hammer is called? Which skill will best help you get that nail through the wood?)

Anyway, based on FL Steph's response, it sounds like this program teaches children to recognize sight words, which is a very important part of the reading process. However, I wouldn't use sight word instruction to develop emergent literacy, and babies are definitely emergent readers!

As parents, the best things you can do to support your child's literacy skills are (among other things):
- Provide a print-rich environment.
- Model good reading habits.
- Read to your children.
- Move your finger across the words as you read. This will help your children develop an understanding of the alphabetic principal, as well as phonological awareness. AND phonemic awareness, too, I suppose.
- Show them that you enjoy reading. Make library outings an exciting and regular event.
- Speak to your child in the same voice you use with other adults.
- Encourage your child to use all six of the language arts--reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, and visually representing. These skills are all reciprocal, and a child's proficiency in one area helps her ability in the others. And, since speaking, listening, viewing, and visually representing are all skills that we develop naturally as humans (while reading and writing are not--what a testament to our brain's ability to adapt and change that we developed written language and we continue to teach it to each generation! I'm on a tangent, sorry . . . ) Since the other four language arts are natural skills, capitalize on developing those skills in your child. Encourage her to speak and to listen, to interpret images and to create her own. They will support her development as a reader and a writer, I promise.

Can I make a plug for a great upcoming early literacy event? October 7th is Read for the Record Day, a campaign that brings adults and children together through reading. The goal is to raise awareness about our current early literacy crisis, and to get people to pledge to read the same book aloud to children on the same day all across the country. Last year over 2 million people participated, and brought a lot of attention to early literacy in the process.
My college reading students are going to be reading the book aloud to the children in our early childhood center on campus, I'm very excited!
http://www.readfortherecord.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_2010

Oh, man. I can go on and on about literacy. I'm a Reading Specialist (hey Zoe!) and I currently teach students in developmental reading and writing classes at a community college. I also teach graduate students who aspire to become reading specialists in an MEd program in Reading and Literacy. (Just in case you wanted to know who the heck I am and why I have anything to say on the subject!)

ETA: Sorry for such a long post! I just got carried away. I love talking about early literacy.
I found one academic review of the "Your Baby Can Read" program, which I'm downloading right now. Is this the program you're asking about?

 

[Haven]

I was only able to find one hit for this program while searching my academic database and it was a very short review from 2007 for a library journal. This tells me that the program has received little to no recognition in the academic community.

It really looks like this program is based entirely on developing sight words in your children. Early childhood teachers often use sight words in their literacy instruction, but I can promise you that they aren't spending $99 for them! (You'll see word walls, items with word labels, things like that in any classroom.) Sight words are important, but they certainly aren't going to teach your emergent reader how to read. I would focus on phonics, and if you really wanted to include sight words, download the Dolch word lists and make your own flashcards. The Dolch lists include the most common words used in children's books, so they're a great place to start.

And since we acquire new knowledge by connecting it to existing knowledge, you'll help your child learn new words if you include pictures of the nouns as well. If they see a picture of a car next to the word "car" you are activating their prior knowledge (they have seen cars before) and connecting it to their new knowledge (the word "car" corresponds with the image).

 

[lulu]

Thanks Soocool, FLSteph,AGBF and Haven for putting this into perspective to me. I have no background in education and I can see what you mean about sight words.

Crasru--no babies here, I'm a grandmother! And my grandchildren are too old for this. I was just curious and needed an educator's viewpoint.

 

[zoebartlett]

Hi, Lulu. I was a teacher for many years and I would personally not waste my money on this program. The first problem I see with it is the fact that it uses DVDs to teach babies. New research has shown that tv should not be used for children under 2 years old. They can become overstimulated with rapid movements and scene changes and their brains are firing off neurons at a rapid pace while viewing tv. This makes it seem as if the real world is moving at slow motion compared to the rapid movements they see on tv, and thus it can lead to shorter attention spans later in life. The best thing you can do at this stage for development is interacting with your child. Read books, sing songs, play blocks, etc. There will be plenty of time to learn to read, and motor skills are just as important in my very humble opinion. I taught Kindergarten and at the beginning of the year we inevitably would have parents coming in saying "well, my child is really advanced, he/she can already read". Well guess what, by the end of the year, ALL the children could read and many times would not only catch up to the early reader, but surpass them in level, so being an early reader doesn't necessarily equate to more advanced in school when everyone else catches up to their level.

Ditto! I teach second grade and I've also taught Kndergarten and first. I'd focus on the things that Steph mentioned instead of getting the DVDs.

 

[zoebartlett]

I was only able to find one hit for this program while searching my academic database and it was a very short review from 2007 for a library journal. This tells me that the program has received little to no recognition in the academic community.

It really looks like this program is based entirely on developing sight words in your children. Early childhood teachers often use sight words in their literacy instruction, but I can promise you that they aren't spending $99 for them! (You'll see word walls, items with word labels, things like that in any classroom.) Sight words are important, but they certainly aren't going to teach your emergent reader how to read. I would focus on phonics, and if you really wanted to include sight words, download the Dolch word lists and make your own flashcards. The Dolch lists include the most common words used in children's books, so they're a great place to start.

And since we acquire new knowledge by connecting it to existing knowledge, you'll help your child learn new words if you include pictures of the nouns as well. If they see a picture of a car next to the word "car" you are activating their prior knowledge (they have seen cars before) and connecting it to their new knowledge (the word "car" corresponds with the image).

Hi Haven!

Lulu -- I'm also a reading specialist, and Haven's advice is spot on. In my second grade classroom, there is a word wall that we add to all the time. Things are labeled, etc. There are so many games you can play with Dolch words, and the kids have a lot of fun with them.

Our Kindergarten teacher uses a program called Focus on Phonemes, and she's had a lot of success with it. To be honest, I don't know much about it, but the kids have fun and they definitely learn a lot in their teacher's class.

I don't know much about Your Baby Can Read, but there are so many other great resources out there.

 

[Arkteia]

Well since there are two reading specialists here...

I learned to read at 3 years of age. I probably knew alphabet by that time. But I'd ask my nanny about names of street signs or shops and then would remember them. I am a very fast reader but tend to "scan" pages. I love to read and have read a lot but in general consider my reading speed a handicap because sometimes I read so fast I do not have the time to think of what I just have read. PS-ers might have noticed it. I may miss true meaning of a question. Sometimes I have to come back and think of what the poster actually wanted to say.

In my family everyone reads well except for my 7-year old who has dyslexia and really, really struggles with reading. He, too, tries to remember words but how many long words can you remember? English is constructed in a complex way, with many diphthongs, and it makes words harder to remember.

Any advices about reading programs and help to kids who struggle with dyslexia but have good visual memory will be appreciated.
(His auditory memory is good as well).

 

[AGBF]

I am a very fast reader but tend to "scan" pages. I love to read and have read a lot but in general consider my reading speed a handicap because sometimes I read so fast I do not have the time to think of what I just have read. PS-ers might have noticed it. I may miss true meaning of a question. Sometimes I have to come back and think of what the poster actually wanted to say.

crasru-

I do not mean to make this into a threadjack, but perhaps I can take advantage of the reading specialists involved in this thread. Your posting sparked my curiosity because I seem to be somewhat of your opposite.

We are both mental health professionals and I am a slow reader, but one who generally understands all the content of what I read. I have always chalked that up to my obsessive-compulsive tendencies. (If I have not read something properly the first time, I return to it. I also correct an author's grammar as I read with the superstitious belief that if I do not, that my own grammar will become sloppy. It takes time to change every "like" that needs to be changed to "as if" when one is reading the average book by the average author.)

When I took the SATs, I could not finish the reading segments. I am sure that my score on the verbal part of the test reflected my slow reading speed. Yet I manage to read a great many books. Just not as many as my mother, who read like you! I wonder why I read slowly to begin with.

Deb/AGBF

 

[partgypsy]

Why does a baby need to know how to read?

 

[swimmer]

Why does a baby need to know how to read?

Awesome, my thoughts exactly. Poor bebes, so much pressure so early!

A video program that will teach a baby to read sounds awful, do it yourself with them in your lap over the hundreds of books you read together. And agreeing with FL Steph, the recent data on under 2s watching TV is really quite frightening. Yes, the TV can be a lifesaver for occupying a little person's attention while parents get food ready or simply breathe, but lets not kid ourselves the TV is not a substitute for human interaction.

Sidenote though, I just heard good things about http://www.amazon.com/Fridge-Words-Magnetic-Word-Builder/dp/B0002SC7CE Not going to buy it for my baby! just yet...

 

[Haven]

Why does a baby need to know how to read?

THIS is the real question.

Crasru and Deb--I'm not ignoring your inquiries. I'm going to come back and post a response later when I have time to link to some really good resources and/or information for you. I'll be back!

 

[Haven]

Why does a baby need to know how to read?

THIS is the real question.

Crasru and Deb--I'm not ignoring your inquiries. I'm going to come back and post a response later when I have time to link to some really good resources and/or information for you. I'll be back! (Or maybe Zoe will post before I do. Either way, you'll get some information, I promise.)

 

[TravelingGal]

Why does a baby need to know how to read?

Awesome, my thoughts exactly. Poor bebes, so much pressure so early!

A video program that will teach a baby to read sounds awful, do it yourself with them in your lap over the hundreds of books you read together. And agreeing with FL Steph, the recent data on under 2s watching TV is really quite frightening. Yes, the TV can be a lifesaver for occupying a little person's attention while parents get food ready or simply breathe, but lets not kid ourselves the TV is not a substitute for human interaction.

Sidenote though, I just heard good things about http://www.amazon.com/Fridge-Words-Magnetic-Word-Builder/dp/B0002SC7CE Not going to buy it for my baby! just yet...

I was just going to post this.

Seriously, who gives a flying F if the baby can read? OK, I know a lot of parents take great pride in their kid's genius (and all kids are geniuses, right?) but I think more and more, parents need to let them kids be kids. Which means not shoving phonics games in their direction when they are a year old. Before I had Amelia, I wondered if I would be one of *those* parents. I mean, I do like to be competitive by nature! Probably the best thing for me was to keep in touch with the moms whose kids are within a week of Amelia's age. All of them were more advanced than Amelia. Amelia can sing a song! Well, great, their kids were doing it 6 months ago. Great to keep the ego in check, and I have to say, I've spent most of Amelia's life being relaxed about learning "stuff" which has been great for her and even better for me!

My parents certainly didn't teach me how to read...their language was Korean. Yet I was fast reader and ended up being an English major (and am a voracious reader today...I can read very fast as well). They taught me math though, and I'm an Asian defect because I can barely add two plus two. I think some kids are just more naturally inclined than others. I'm a big believer in reading to your kids because it's great bonding time and many children love being read to them. But I couldn't care less about pointing to the words at this stage. I point to the pictures, interact, and just have FUN.

 

[AGBF]

Crasru and Deb--I'm not ignoring your inquiries. I'm going to come back and post a response later when I have time to link to some really good resources and/or information for you. I'll be back! (Or maybe Zoe will post before I do. Either way, you'll get some information, I promise.)

crasru-

Did you see Haven return to this thread? I didn't.

Deb